


Canvas of Bone

by MercuryHomophony



Series: Behold the Field in Which I store my Headcannons (TAZ) [10]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Domestic nonsense, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-25 01:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12025635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MercuryHomophony/pseuds/MercuryHomophony
Summary: Taako catches the Reapers sleeping, and seizes a unique opportunity.





	Canvas of Bone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WaltzQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaltzQueen/gifts).



> A prompt from WaltzQueen - "All of the BoneSquad falls sleep on a coach and Taako paints their skulls." It's just cute fluff yall. 
> 
> Takes place c. 200 years after Story and Song.

Taako grinned with unrestrained delight, hands clasped together as he took in the scene before him.

Not one, not two, but all three members of his family were currently sprawled out on the couch; Lup and Barry were leaned in precarious balance against one another, his head tucked under hers, mouths hanging open. Kravitz had ended up further down the couch, lying with his arms over the back in a manner that suggested he had thrown himself down and immediately fallen asleep - not a common occurrence, but with Krav indulging in the wonders of sleep more often, it happened.

That picture on its own would have been priceless, and Taako would have secretly cherished it before sneaking off to the kitchen to make them something for when they woke up. But, there was an added bonus to the situation.

All three of them were still skeletons.

It must have been a long, hard day of Reaping, he thought to himself, looking the three over - Lup was the only one who had managed to formulate normal clothes, the other two still in their Reaper gear - Kravitz in his long, tattered black robe, Barry in his matching crimson one.

Kravitz snored softly, and Taako had to bite his lip to fight the giggle that threatened to wake them all. Lup snorted, pulling Barry closer with one bony arm, and her jaw clacked lightly off the dome of his skull, and Taako quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, choking on his snickers.

To anyone else, the sight of three skeletons lying on their living room couch would have been terrifying - doubly so if you knew that they were actually the very powerful (very dorky) bounty hunters of the Raven Queen. To Taako, however, the sight was one that presented an opportunity.

A delightful, _artistic_ opportunity.

 

—

 

Sleep was a great thing, Kravitz thought, slowly rousing himself from slumber. So many years being dead, being a Reaper, made him underrate it severely, something Taako had been quick to set straight with him. The idea of forcing yourself into unconsciousness for a period of time hadn’t sounded pleasant at first, but after a few nights of snuggling with Taako, his opinion had changed. It wasn’t just the act of sleeping, he found. It was about going to a place where you felt safe, secure, comfortable, and letting your guard down because you know you can. It was about _relaxing_.

(And, well, the view when he woke up was pretty good too.)

As an example - today had sucked. An early, upstart necromancer was looking to accelerate his career, and had set fire to an orphanage. It had… it had been a bad scene. Thanks to Lup, Barry, and himself, the casualties had been minimal, and quickly and correctly ushered to the Astral Plane, instead of being caught in some dastardly spell. Lup had finally offed the necromancer, and they’d wrapped things up and gone home to rest.

They’d made it as far as the living room before Lup declared herself “Fucking Done-zo,” and dragged Barry onto the couch. Kravitz had debated going up to his and Taako’s bedroom, but. Stairs. And portals. And he was pretty “done-zo” himself. Collapsing on the couch was so much easier, as easy as slipping off after a long day.

Something brushed across his cheekbone, and red fire flickered to life in his sockets as he “opened his eyes.” Taako’s face took up the entirety of his vision, hovering inches from his own, grinning mischievously.

“Hey Skeletor,” he whispered. “Hold still for just a sec longer? I’m almost done.”

“With what?” he whispered back, jaw clicking. He started to will flesh over his bones, but Taako put a hurried finger to his not-lips.

“No - nononono, no flesh yet, you have to see it first!” he hissed. Kravitz nodded, amused at his husband’s excitement and curious to see whatever it was that had Taako in such a good mood. The elf pulled his finger away. “Good. Now, shut your eye-lights for a sec an’ let me finish.”

“Alright,” he said softly, flickering his vision out. Again, something light brushed against his cheekbone, dragging along the line of it. A few more brushes followed, and he was starting to have an idea of what was happening.

“Taako, are you-?”

“Shh, don’t mess me up, Krav.”

Despite his orders not to look, Kravitz lit his eyes again, taking in Taako’s face. He was so focused on whatever he was doing to Kravitz’s skull - brow furrowed, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth - he didn’t even notice the light flickering in the Reaper’s sockets.

He squinted, making a particularly cute face as he added one final flourish, and Kravitz’s teeth clicked as he smiled. Only then did Taako notice his staring. The tips of his ears turned red, the quiet glow of a blush growing under a dusting of freckles as he pulled away, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Alright, done,” he said, still whispering.

“So, what did you do?”

Taako smiled, pointing over at the other side of the couch. Carefully, Kravitz turned his head, saw Lup and Barry settled where they had been when he’d joined them -

But their skulls, which had definitely been white and clean when they’d fallen asleep, were now vibrant with color - makeup, he recognized, and probably Taako’s. Lup had fire, licking at the corners of her mouth, flowing from her eye sockets, a spectrum of colors but primarily crimson and clearly, so clearly, her element playing across her face. Barry (and Kravitz failed to stifle a snicker, saw Taako’s grin widen and knew he was encouraging his husband’s goof, but couldn’t bring himself to care), Barry had blue patterning across his face, careful stippling and cross-hatching mimicking the denim he loved so much, patches of red and white tastefully accenting the artful work Taako had done contouring his skull.

When he looked back at Taako, the elf was holding up a mirror, and he caught sight of himself.

The red glow of his eyes paired nicely with the design - subtle curls of crimson and charcoal, with bright burnished copper sparkling around his sockets. Along his brow and cheekbones, he could see careful, dedicated black feathering, with some iridescent purples slipped in, giving it the same glossy sheen as his Queen’s plumage. Gingerly, he took the mirror from Taako, turning his head to examine his husband’s work with awe.

“How long did this take you?” he asked, fingers hovering just over bone as he traced the lines. Taako shrugged.

“Dunno, hour? Hour ‘n a half? Sort of lost track of time.” He perched on the coffee table, watching Kravitz examine himself. “To be honest, I almost just drew dicks on all of you, but when Lup didn’t even flinch at the first one, I figured I’d take advantage of my chance and get creative.”

“It’s… it’s beautiful, Taako.” He tried to smile, but without lips, the gesture lost a little meaning. Still, Taako seemed to get it, and beamed back, before looking over at them.

“Do you think if we don’t tell them, it’ll stay on the next time they go all spooky?”

He laughed quietly. “I think it would certainly add to Lup’s intimidation factor,” he said. “Barry, I’m less sure…”

“There’s nothing scarier than the intersection of bad fashion and death,” Taako said, so seriously that Kravitz couldn’t help but laugh. Down the couch, Lup stirred, skull yawning wide.

“Mmm, Kravitz? What’s so funny?” She lifted her arms to stretch. “Oh, hey bro, what’s-” The lights in her eye sockets flickered as she spotted Kravitz, and after a moment of staring, she turned to Taako. “If I have a dick on my face, I’m kicking your ass all the way to the moon base.”

Taako laughed, plucking the mirror from Kravitz’s grasp and handing it to her. “Nah, not today,” he said as she took a look at herself.

“Taako, this is pretty sick!” She nudged Barry, stirring him. “Hey, babe, wake up and check out our new looks!”

“Hmmm?” He lifted his head from her shoulder, eyes sluggishly sparking to light. “What’s going on?”

“Taako did our faces while we were asleep, check it out!”

His eyelights flickered, and he slowly leaned forward to check out his reflection, before chuckling. “Well, it certainly suits.”

“Damn straight it does,” Taako said, voice at normal volume now that he didn’t have to worry about waking anyone. “That’ll teach you to fall asleep on the couch!”

“You mean it’ll teach us to do it again?” Lup asked, her face appearing over the colorful tableau. When she saw Taako’s expression fall, she smiled. “No worries, I’ll make sure it’s there when I switch back. Scare the piss outta some newbie necro.”

Taako snorted. “Well, if you do it again, it’ll _definitely_ be dicks next time.”

“Your ass. Moon base. End statement.”

Taako just rolled his eyes, sweeping to his feet. “Fine, I promise I’ll consider not drawing crude doodles all over your faces next time.” He headed towards the kitchen, waving one hand at them. “I’m gonna make some coffee - who wants some?”

There was a three part harmony response as the Reapers got up, stretched, and headed for the kitchen. Kravitz followed behind Lup and Barry, Lup already chattering with her brother as she told him about their day.

Sleep was nice. Waking up like this was nicer.

**Author's Note:**

> If I get any more into this particular set of headcannons I'm gonna have to make a separate collection.  
> "Sometimes A Family Is Three Reapers And One Immortal Elf."
> 
> And, even though I'm working on prompts for this thingy, they're coming along pretty fast, so I'm still taking prompts~!


End file.
